Join us for an online conversation exploring the life and work of Alfred Wallis, inspired by our current exhibition Alfred Wallis Rediscovered.
Alfred Wallis spent most of his life as a seaman and fisherman in Cornwall, only turning to painting at the age of seventy. Although he painted from memory, his evocative images of ships, fishing vessels and the Cornish landscape were based on a lifetime of direct experience.
Plants have been used in the beauty and fragrance industry for thousands of years, from ancient times up until the present day.
The exhibition features watercolours from the our exceptional botanical collection. Works include those by Nicolas Robert (1614–85), Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708–70), Joseph von Plenck (1735–1807), Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) and Henriette Knip (1783–1842). They are displayed alongside a range of perfume vessels from ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as scent bottles from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Touch is our first sense. Through touch we make art, stake a claim to what we own and those we love, express our faith, our belief, our anger. Touch is how we leave our mark and find our place in the world; touch is how we connect.
Drawing on works of art spanning four thousand years and from across the globe, this exhibition explores the fundamental role of touch in human experience, and offers new ways of looking.
Kettle’s Yard is pleased to present Untitled: art on the conditions of our time. This exhibition brings together work by 10 British African diaspora artists with a focus on how their innovative practices ask important questions about some of the most important cultural and political issues of our turbulent times. The exhibition will feature new commissions by Barby Asante, Appau Junior Boakye-Yiadom and NT, as well as new and recent work by Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, Phoebe Boswell, Kimathi Donkor, Evan Ifekoya, Cedar Lewisohn, Harold Offeh and Ima-Abasi Okon.
Alfred Wallis’ (1855-1942) expressive drawings and paintings capture the immediacy of his direct experiences of the sea. Wallis lived in Cornwall throughout his life, working on deep sea fishing boats and then as a marine scrap merchant. He turned to painting when he was in his seventies and with no formal training, and used this creative outlet as a means to escape the isolation and loneliness that he felt following the passing of his wife.
Join the Friends of Kettle’s Yard and Phil Neale, one of our Visitor Assistants and Chair of the T.E. Lawrence Society, for an online talk on the friendship and correspondence between Jim Ede and T.E. Lawrence, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, and their mutual interest in art and literature, as well as their memories of India.
About the talk
The talk will look at the often-overlooked furniture in the Kettle’s Yard House and the hidden or unnoticed way Jim Ede related art and objects. You will learn about the history of various pieces of furniture, how Jim acquired them and how the furniture in the House complements the space.
Join Kettle’s Yard, The Heong Gallery and The Fitzwilliam Museum for a live streamed drawing and sound performance by Syrian-born and Cambridge-based artist Issam Kourbaj, marking the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising – a crisis that resulted in violent armed conflict and ongoing civil war. This is a collaboration with composer Richard Causton and soprano Jessica Summers.
To join in the fun, simply pick up your free bingo sheet on your way into the Garden. Get hunting for different springtime sights and claim your prize at the end. The bingo includes lots of amazing springtime plants and animals, including the brightly coloured Brimstone butterfly, beautiful cherry blossoms and the elusive Purple Toothwort plant.
Entry tickets are limited, and must be purchased in advance of your visit.
